Twilight Sparkle, Ace Attorny: The Royal Turnabout
by Animegx43
Summary: While Rarity undoubtedly killed nopony, she stood accused of trying to kill Prince Blueblood of the royal family, which is even great then performing a normal murder successfully. Despite Twilight Sparkle being a royal princess, she had no power to simply waive her friend's crime, but that didn't stop her from helping her generous friend to the very limit of her abilities.
1. Day 1: An Angered Princess

Murder: A very rare and serious crime in Equestria. Due to the peaceful nature of the nation, the idea of killing is hard to imagine and even harder to actually carry out. Ponies die everyday, whether by natural means, unfortunate events and sometimes even accidentally by other ponies. Nonetheless, murder is unacceptable

As hard as it is to believe, murder isn't the biggest crime one can commit in Equestria. While attempted murder is also a crime of high calibre, there is only one way it can out weight murder itself, and that is to try and kill one from the royal family. Sadly, a mare named Rarity learned that the hard way.

Police entered a room and saw Prince Blueblood of Canterlot lying unconscious on the ground as his head bled. In front of the dying stallion was Rarity, who herself could not imagine what had happened. Due to her low constitution, she fainted from seeing Blueblood's red blood. When she woke up, this was the first thing she heard.

"Miss Rarity, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Prince Blueblood".

As soon as she heard those words though, Rarity fainted. She was in very big trouble and she needed somepony to help her out of her jam. She figured the best pony to help her was Princess Twilight Sparkle, one of the most powerful and reliable ponies she knew. Sadly, even a princess like Twilight Sparkle was no match for the law.

* * *

**October 8  
****Ponyville: Golden Oak Library**

The day after Rarity got arrested, Twilight was at her home in Ponyville's library, doing her daily reorganization of every shelf to make sure everything was where they were suppose to be. Her assistant Spike, a baby dragon, insisted that it wasn't necessary, but Twilight did it anyway.

"And finally, How To Have Chords of Steel! The last book!" She said as she finished putting the books away. "I always get a sore throat after reading that one."

"Does this mean we can finally get something to eat now?" Spike asked.

"Almost. Now all we need to do is double-check to make sure every book is in place. Let's get started."

Spike sighed at what Twilight said. He always insisted that even Princess Celestia wasn't as picky when it came to organization, but Twilight didn't want to take the risk.

Right as Twilight was about to double-check her work, Spike breathed out his magical flame which flew toward her until it formed into a scroll. It was a letter from Princess Celestia. While Twilight would normally be thrilled to get a letter from her mentor, the one she sent to Twilight was probably the worst one she had ever gotten from Celestia. The look Twilight had on her face when she read the scroll was ghastly.

"Oh no! Spike, I've got some very bad news." She said to him.

Spike gasped at what he considered to be the worst case scenario. "Are all the world's rubies and sapphires missing? NOOOOO!"

"Spike, your gems are fine."

"Oh, thank Celestia! Don't scare me like that!"

"It's Rarity. She's at a Canterlot prison! Celestia is being pretty vague with this letter and once us to come to her castle immediately. She wants to talk to me personally about this."

"Rarity is in jail? Canterlot's jail? What, did she kill somepony?"

No words could describe Spike's face when Twilight told him how close his guess was. The poor dragon had such a big crush on Rarity. He couldn't believe that Rarity would be a murderer. He did have the right idea though, as even Twilight couldn't believe she would do something so bad.

* * *

**October 10, 2:00 PM **  
**Canterlot Castle**  
**Throne room**

Twilight wasted no time getting to Canterlot to settle the problem. Spike really wanted to come and see Rarity and couldn't be convinced to not come, so Twilight brought him along, although she didn't bring him to see Princess Celestia since she wanted to keep the meeting private. By the very next day, they were in the capital city of Equestria, Canterlot.

News about Rarity had spread all around the city. On her way to the castle, Twilight heard Rarity's name being mentioned by a lot of other ponies. Some ponies even saw Twilight, one of their princesses, and remembered that Rarity was a close friend of hers. She felt very nervous knowing that Rarity was the talk of Canterlot, and yet she knew nothing about what happened.

Eventually, she reached the castle, easily got past the guards, and met up with Princess Celestia in her throne room. She was waiting for her and looked almost as nervous as Twilight did.

"Princess, I'm here!" Twilight said as she walked in. "Now what happened to Rarity!"

Celestia felt relieved when her faithful student finally walked into her throne room, but naturally, she was still gravely worried about the issue. "Twilight Sparkle, I see you wish to cut down to the chase."

"You're darn right I want to cut down to the chase!" She answered with a raised voice. "My friend is in jail and you haven't done anything to help her out! What exactly is going on here?"

In hindsight, she found she probably shouldn't have been so angry at the princess. In fact, she realized right there that it was probably the stupidest thing she had ever done. Celestia herself was even surprised, but she easily forgave her old student as she understood why Twilight was angry at all. After Celestia calmed her down, she began give Twilight more details on what happened to Rarity.

"A few days ago, Rarity had checked in at the Gilded Horseshoe, Canterlot's most luxurious hotel."

"Yeah, she told me and the others before she left. I'm surprised she got in there. I heard that only the richest and most highly revered ponies in Equestria can get in their." Twilight said.

"Even I don't know what she was doing there, nor do the Canterlot Police Department, but it's clear that she was there. At the time, Prince Blueblood, a nephew of mine, was also at the hotel. At some point, he was attacked and fatally injured."

"That's awful. He's not dead, is he?"

"He's alive, but he's in a coma right now and there's no telling when he will wake up. And Twilight..." Celestia paused, as she didn't want to say what she said next. "Rarity was there at the crime scene."

Celestia said exactly what Twilight was afraid to hear. Blueblood was found half-dead and Rarity was with him when he was found. It would be easy for anypony to conclude that Rarity was responsible. Anypony but Twilight of course.

"A pony could have a solid gold dress encrusted with jewels, yet Rarity wouldn't literally kill for it. She might be feel tempted, but I know she wouldn't do it." Twilight stated. "Where is she? I want to see her right now!"

"She's at a detention center in Canterlot's prison."

"That's all I need to know." She said as I began walking out the door. "I need to get her out of their quicker than you can say-"

But before she could leave the throne room, Celestia slammed the doors shut with her magic. Twilight could've just teleported out if she wanted to, but it was obvious that Celestia wasn't done talking.

"Twilight Sparkle, I know your upset with what's happening and I can tell you're angry at me, but please listen to everything I have to say."

"I'm...I'm sorry, but can you blame me, princess? One of my best friends are in jail and you won't let me do anything. In fact, why haven't you done anything? You can probably do anything you want, can't you?"

Celestia shook her head at Twilight's ignorance before she continued. "There are two reasons why I can't simply let Rarity off the hook. The first is the fact that Equestria is a constitution monarchy. While I am the undisputed ruler, along with my sister, certain political decisions for Equestria can't be done by me alone. The Equestrian High Council have a say in those circumstances.

"Yes, I've seen them before. What does that have to do with Rarity?" She asked.

"Since she's labeled as a killer, the high council, as well as anypony else, wouldn't feel comfortable if she was let free so easily."

"But she didn't kill anypony! I heard Prince Blueblood survived!"

The princess went silent. What Twilight said brought up the hardest thing Celestia had to say to her, and what Twilight heard was very heartbreaking.

"That brings up the second reason I can't help Rarity. She's not just being accused of attempted murder. This was attempted regicide, which is far more serious than normal murder. It is quite possible that she will face Equestria's greatest punishment for it."

"B-banishment to the moon?"

"No." Celestia answered. "To the Sun."

"WHAT!" twilight shouted. "You can't banish somepony to the Sun! That would burn them alive!"

It was then that she realized that Princess Celestia knew very well what she said and she meant it. While the punishment is technically banishment, the true nature was far greater than that. She knew that if things went the way they did, Rarity would've had to accept the death penalty.

* * *

**If any of you are familiar with the Ace Attorney series or Turnabout Storm, you may enjoy this.**


	2. Day 1: A Complicated Case

Twilight Sparkle was already worried about her friend, but after hearing that Rarity was going to die for a crime she didn't do, she did everything she could just keep sane. She couldn't believe what was happening. After her talk with Celestia, Twilight went down to the Canterlot police station, bringing Spike with her so he could see Rarity.

**October 9, 3:00 PM**  
**Canterlot Police Department**  
**Room 105: Criminal Affairs**

"Banished to the Sun?" Spike asked. "But Rarity's skin is too sensitive for a tan like that!"

"A tan like that is too much for anypony." Twilight answered. "But don't worry, Spike. I don't plan on letting Rarity get to close to the Sun, which is exactly why we're going to see her. I'm sure I'll be able to convince the police she's innocent. The princess also said they can give me more details about the crime here at Criminal Affairs.."

"That sounds cool and all, but who can tell us? In fact, will they tell us anything at all?"

"I have a feeling somepony will tell me something if I ask."

As soon as Twilight walked into the room, all eyes from everypony inside shifted to Twilight. The officers in the room were all surprised to see one of their princesses walking into their department without any warning. None of them even knew how to react.

After a small commotion, a calm pony walked up to Twilight to talk to her. He was a red earth pony with a brown mane which he had styled to have several spiky looking curls around his head, one of which covered up his right eye, and a boxing glove cutie mark on his flank. Even though he was a stallion, he was rather short when compared to the average stallion. In fact, Twilight found that she was slightly bigger than him.

"Your highness, it's a pleasure to meet you." The small stallion said. "I am Commissioner Star Cestus! What brings you here?"

"What brings me here? I'll tell you what brings me here. You have one of my best friends locked up and I've only now found out about it!" Twilight said with anger. "Now tell me why you arrested her!"

In an instant, every other pony in the room left, fearing what their princess would do to them. Commissioner Cestus knew he couldn't leave though, much to his misfortune.

"I-I'll tell you everything, just promise you won't hurt me or my officers!" Cestus said nervously, holding up his front hooves as if he would punch Twilight if she got any closer.

"Uhh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spook you. I'm just a little on edge ever since I found out my friend is in jail."

After Twilight talked more sincerely, Cestus dropped his hooves and lost his fear of the princess. "I guess you have every right to be mad. I've seen many ponies come into our custody and one of their friends would yell at me for arresting them. Normally, I could quick them with a good old uppercut, but...considering you're thee Twilight Sparkle, if I were to fight you, my plot would be caught."

After realizing that she was getting angry again, Twilight took a deep breath, exhaled, and began talking to Commissioner Cestus in a much calmer, more friendly tone.

"Can't let my anger get the best of me again." Twilight said to herself. "Alright Commissioner Cestus. I have a few questions. First, why was Rarity arrested? Why did you think she tried to kill the prince?"

"Well your highness, after we investigated of the crime scene, we found several clues that lead us to point our hooves at Miss Rarity. Actually, some of my officers are out investigating the crime scene as we speak. I'm afraid it doesn't look good for your friend."

"How is that possible?" Spike asked. "What proof do you have?"

"I'm afraid that's classified information." Cestus answered.

Twilight growled with anger upon learning that the information she needed couldn't be given to her. Spike jumped off her back while Cestus took a few steps back as both of the boys were afraid of getting attacked by their angry princess. Twilight quickly realized that she was getting angry again though, so she took a deep breath and calmed down again. At that point, she realized she was getting nowhere fast.

"Okay, look. I know I'm not allowed to let Rarity off scot-free, but surely I'm allowed to learn details of the crime, right?" Twilight asked.

"Well actually, Princess Celestia herself said that the only pony we're allowed to show our evidence to is the one who'll be defending Rarity in court Tomorrow." Cestus explained.

"Her trial is Tomorrow? Spike, we don't have much time. Who's representing her?"

"Actually...that's the weirdest problem we're having ." Cestus said with a sad look on his face. "Due to the victim being Prince Blueblood and what-not, nopony has been willing to represent Miss Rarity. Since she has the right to have somepony defend her, the trial might get be postponed."

"What's wrong with that?" Spike asked. "Wouldn't that mean she can't be banished to the Sun?"

"She won't get banished until she's declared guilty, but what will most likely happen is that the Princess will appoint a defense attorney to defend your friend's case, but if that happens, I wouldn't expect a very strong case for her."

This was very bad news to Twilight and Spike. As most of Canterlot had labeled Rarity as a criminal, whoever she would've gotten to defend her would most likely not try very hard and give Rarity a guilty verdict. If things went that way, Rarity would've been doomed. It was then that Twilight realized that there was somepony she had to see as soon as possible.

"Commissioner, where's Rarity right now? Can we see her? Can you at least give us that much?"

"Well...while I can't let you get involved in the case as a princess, I guess you can come as a visitor."

"Oh thank you, Commissioner!" Twilight said as she jumped to hug Cestus. "I owe you big for this!"

Commissioner Cestus wasn't sure if he should've allowed Twilight to see Rarity or not since he knew he couldn't let her get involved in the case, but he didn't see anything wrong with a simple visit. Although he suspected it to be a bad idea, he didn't want to risk seeing her princess angry again.

* * *

**October 9, 3:20 PM **  
**Detention Center**  
**Visitor's Room.**

After a short walk to the detention center, Cestus brought Twilight and Spike to the visitor's room where they hoped to see Rarity. After bring them there, Cestus began to regret the idea of bringing them more and more.

"Now I don't want you to let you stay here for too long, so please try to make it quick." Star Cestus said. "Only family members and lawyers should even be allowed to see her."

"I'll say what I need to say. Come on, Spike!"

As Twilight and Spike walked into the visitor room, three other ponies walked out. A white stallion with a straw hat, a pink unicorn, and a young white filly. Twilight recognized the filly immediately as Sweetie Belle, Rarity's little sister, so she assumed the other two were Rarity's parents. All three looked so sad after leaving, most certainly because they saw their beloved Rarity locked away in prison.

Twilight began to wonder if anypony else from Ponyville knew where Rarity was, but she quickly put her focus on the current issue. She walked into the room and saw Rarity sitting down on the other side of a glass wall. While Sweetie Belle and her parents didn't notice Twilight, Rarity did.

"Twilight? Spike?"

"Wow! Perfect timing." Spike said.

Instead of leaving after seeing her family, Rarity took to opportunity to talk to Twilight and Spike, two of her closest friends. Despite seeing good friends, she still looked very worried.

"So...are things going smooth for you in here?" Twilight asked, who wanted to break the ice.

"No! The jail cells are so ugly with the shade of grey. I simply can't sleep in such a small, ugly room! The cell mates are rather nice to me, but I'm still worried that they'll violate me if I let my guard down."

"You're accused of attempted regicide, about to be banished to the Sun, and your top fear involves an ugly jail cell?" Twilight asked with disbelief.

"Oh heavens, yes. I've always wanted my last days to be something that suits my standards." Rarity explained, but then realized what she said out loud. "What am I saying? There's no way I'll be banished! I didn't even do it!"

"The police seems really convinced that you did do it though." Twilight said. "They found you right there with Prince Blueblood, which, as far as I know, is the main reason they think you did it. Hey, how did you get into that hotel anyway?

"Oh, it has been a dream of mine to go to the Gilded Horseshoe!" Rarity said with bliss. "Regular rooms in there is like suites in normal hotels with large and comfy beds, swimming pools with hot or cold water, the most delicious foods in all of Canterlot..."

Before she could even finish her description of the hotel, Rarity got lost in her memory of the hotel, thus forgetting where she even was.

_Clop clop!_

"Hey! Equestria to Rarity!" Twilight said, clopping her hooves to get Rarity's attention again.

"Huh? Oh sorry, darling. That wasn't the first time I've done that."

Although she went back to reality, Rarity slowly began to remember her time at the hotel again due to her happy memories, which again made her forget about her horrible experience afterwards, forcing Twilight to snap her back to reality for a second time.

"You know Twilight, we haven't been on a vacation for a while." Spike said with a hopeful smile.

"Not now, Spike." Twilight answered. "Anyway, I've heard that it's really expansive to get into that place. How the hay could you afford a vacation there?"

Rarity was hesitant to answer the question. Twilight noticed Rarity's behavior and wondered why she didn't give a straight answer right off the bat.

"Well, you know how well business has been lately and I've been saving up lately, plus being a close, personal friend of one of the Princess helps a little, so it actually wouldn't make sense if I didn't go."

Twilight found Rarity's answer to have been odd. It felt to her that Rarity lied to her, but she found that to be unlikely. On the other hoof, it was another friend of Twilight who was known for her honesty, not Rarity. Twilight eventually dismissed the possible lie to ask a more important question.

"Rarity, your trial is Tomorrow and you may get a court appointed lawyer. What do you say to that?"

"I'd say don't waste my time and send me to the Sun right now." Rarity answered. "Almost every single pony in Canterlot thinks I tried to kill that good-for-nothing Prince. Only one pony believes me and not even he can help me."

"Who this other pony?"

Rarity almost hesitated to answer, but after thinking it over quickly in her head, she answered with a straight face. "Why, you remember Fancy Pants, right? We've been good friends since we met, but even him and his high position can't help me."

"You sure know how to make powerful friends, Rarity." Spike said.

"Yes. Alas, even with all the princess and celebrities in the world, it seems that society is ready to come at me. I never thought I'd say this, but...it is not on!"

Twilight and Spike could tell that Rarity was upset about her upcoming banishment/execution and that she was ready to give up hope. After all, without anypony who believed in her to defend her in court, there wasn't much hope for her to give up anyway.

Twilight felt like a bad friend for not being able to help Rarity as she had no authority to free her friend. When Twilight thought about that little detail, an idea came. As one of the princesses, she couldn't decree for Rarity's freedom due to the circumstances, so she asked herself a question.

_"What if I were part of the legal system?"_ Twilight thought to herself. "Rarity, I'm going to get you out of here after all!"

"What? Really?" Rarity asked with excitement.

"Yep. I've decided that I'll represent you in court tomorrow. I will be your defense attorney!"

Twilight had such a happy look on her face when she decided to be Rarity's defense as she felt confident that Rarity didn't attack Blueblood. Spike and Rarity, however, were a little more skeptical to the idea. Even Twilight herself wasn't entirely sure if it was a good idea, but she believed that she was Rarity's only hope.

* * *

**Twilight's Records:**

**Profiles:**

**Spike: My baby dragon assistant. Sometimes thinks with his stomach more than with head.**  
**Rarity: One of my best friends. She is accused of trying to murder Prince Blueblood.**  
**Prince Blueblood: The victim. Was apparently almost killed.**  
**Star Cestus: The commissioner of Canterlot's police force. I seem to of spooked him a bit.**  
**Fancy Pants: A high-classed friend of rarity.**


	3. Day 1: Twilight Sparkle, Ace Attorney

**October 9, 3:25 PM **  
**Detention Center**  
**Visitor's Room.**

Twilight was so proud of herself for taking the chance to defend Rarity. She believed that between her seat of power as a princess, her high intelligence, and the magic of friendship would guarantee her friends' freedom. Sadly, she had one discouraging thought in her head.

_Why is Spike and Rarity looking at me like that?_ Twilight thought nervously.

While Twilight was confident, Spike and Rarity questioned whether or not it was a good idea.

"Twilight, sweetie, I know you want to help, but maybe you should leave this to an actual lawyer. I'm sure the legal system works a little differently from magic."

"I know it won't be easy, but I've read lots of law books back at Ponyville. In fact, I just finished one about talking like a lawyer. With my knowledge of Equestrian law and my chords of steel, I know I'll be able to get you acquitted."

"Twilight, after you first read that book, you couldn't speak for a week." Spike said.

_You're not helping me convince Rarity, Spike._ Twilight thought to herself with annoyance. "Rarity, who would you trust more? Me, or some cheap lawyer who probably won't care if you're banished or not?"

"Well...the former, Twilight." Rarity answered.

"Then please. Let me help you. I promise I'll do everything in my power to get you out of here and bring you back home."

Rarity was ready to give up hope and except her unfortunate fate, but after seeing Twilight's determination, she felt a new sense of hope. Rarity knew how smart Twilight was and wanted to at least give her a chance. After all, she had nothing left to lose and everything to gain. Like always, she trusted Twilight completely.

"Take this, darling." Rarity said as she slid an envelope to Twilight. "This is my letter of request. After I sign this, you just need to bring this to the police or the princess and you should have power of attorney."

"I won't let you down, Rarity. I _can't_ let you down." Twilight answered.

To make it official, Twilight used her magic to summon a quill and a bottle of ink, called a couple of the guards to act as witnesses to make the signing official. As soon as Rarity finished writing her name on the document, Twilight officially became Rarity's attorney.

"Are you sure you're up to this, Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"Please, I've saved Equestria like four times now. This will be a snap."

"Well good luck, Twilight. I have faith in you."

Right as Twilight and Spike prepared to leave, a final thought came to Twilight's head. "Wait, I've got one more question, Rarity. An important one."

"Of course, darling. What is it?"

"Well, from what I've heard, the reason you're in jail at all is because the police found you with Prince Blueblood at the crime scene. As for my question; What were you doing there in the first place?"

Rarity became stunned when Twilight asked her question. The last time she was asked a question, it took her a moment to come with an answer, but after being asked about why she was in Blueblood's room, she couldn't come up with an answer at all. After thinking carefully, Rarity found a way around the question.

"Oh, would you look at that! Visitor hours are over. Can't keep the guards or my cell mate waiting. See at the trial Tomorrow Twilight. Later Spike. Bye!"

"Rarity, wait!" Twilight said, only for Rarity to run off from the glass window to get sent back to her cell._ Dang it, Rarity. This isn't going to help your case at all. I don't know what you're hiding, but I still trust you enough to know you didn't try to hurt anypony._

Despite Rarity's refusal to share information, Twilight still trusted Rarity and believed she didn't try to kill Blueblood. After the anti-climatic visit, Twilight and Spike went back to see Commissioner Cestus since he was the reason they could visit at all. He waited patiently for Twilight and Spike finish their meeting and was happy to see they were finished.

"Finally. Now we can we get back to the station now?" Cestus asked.

_Let me think. I guess since I'm acting as the defense, I need to find some evidence._ Twilight thought to herself. "Commissioner, I actually have another favor. I need you to take me to the scene of the crime."

"T-the crime scene? Your highness, I told you already that you can't be involved in this case." Cestus reminded. "Princess Celestia herself-"

"It's alright. As of right now, I am acting as Rarity's defense attorney!"

"You...WHAAAT!?"

The commission was beyond surprised by what he was told. He brought Twilight and Spike in just so they could see their friend, not to give Twilight a chance to practice law.

"I...b-but you...you can't do this! I was given orders directly from Princess Celestia and the high council to not let you get involved in this." Cestus explained.

"I can't do anything as a princess, but since I'm a lawyer now, that changes everything."

"N-no! That changes nothing!" Cestus claimed as he was almost speechless by Twilight's announcement. "I was told that royalty is not to be involved in this case to maintain neutrality!"

_Ugh! I don't have time for this. I have less than a day to get a case ready for Rarity Tomorrow. _Twilight thought to herself. "Fine then. I'll just have to talk to Princess Celestia and let her know that Rarity now has a defense".

"Now look here, pal! You've been told not to get involved with this for a reason! Just because you're a fat cat, it doesn't mean you can find loopholes in the queen of fat cats orders!"

Twilight was mortified by what Cestus said to her. Not long before, he was trying to stay on her good side, but then he did a 180 and not only insulted Twilight, but Princess Celestia herself.

"Did...did you just call me fat?" Twilight asked with great anger.

"Well, you certainly are rather large for a mare, now aren't you?" Cestus answered.

"Maybe it's just because _you're_ the smallest stallion I've ever met!"

"I may be small, but I'm the strongest stallions you'll ever meet!"

"Fine then! The smallest cop versus the Element of Magic herself!"

"BRING IT, PAL!"

Giving very little time for anypony in the room to react to the situation, Twilight and Cestus began fighting each other. The guards didn't even know what they saw. Too them, it seemed like a dusty cloud appeared out of no where, covering up much of the room.

Fortunately, after hearing numerous curses and death threats between Twilight and Cestus, two guards managed to break the fight and kept the two away from each other. Spike stayed in front of Twilight to make sure she didn't try to get back into the fight.

"It's alright, boss." The guard said. "We hate her too."

After that, the guards brought Cestus out of the room as quickly as possible. They knew things would've gotten violent again if they were to stay any longer.

_They hate me? How the heck can they hate me? I'm their princess?_ Twilight thought to herself.

"Twilight, we should probably go and see Princess Celestia." Spike said.

Agreeing that seeing Celestia would be the best decision, particularly because of how little the police were helping, Twilight waiting for Cestus to leave the room she could take the same exit and leave without getting into another fight. While she would've liked to give him another piece of her mind, Twilight needed to make it clear to Celestia that she was going to defend Rarity at court.

* * *

**October 9, 4:15 PM  
Canterlot Castle  
Throne Room.**

Twilight and Spike returned to the castle to speak to Celestia for a second time, but after Twilight's little fight with Cestus, she felt less enthusiastic then she was planning to be. She was thinking more about the fight more than the upcoming trial.

"Can you believe that jerk? Who does he think he is?" Twilight asked.

"I think he's the chief of police." Spike answered.

"That was a rhetorical question, Spike! I'll give him credit though, for such small pony, he could throw a punch."

Twilight then realized that she had a sore bump on her head, which she would've gotten from her little fight. As she gently rubbed her so spot, she saw an ice pack magically placed on the lump.

"Thanks, Princess Celestia." Twilight said.

As soon as she said Celestia's name, Twilight jumped and screamed at Celestia's sudden appearance. She didn't even realize Celestia wasn't in the room when she entered.

_How can a pony three times my size be able to sneak up on me like that?_ Twilight asked herself.

"You went to see your friend and got into a fight with Star Cestus?" Celestia asked as she overheard Twilight and Spike talking. "I'm surprised you're not in a jail cell with your friend."

"As if they'd put Twilight in a jail cell." Spike said. "She's your most important student and one of Equestria's princesses."

"Actually, that's exactly why I figured he would throw her in jail."

Twilight and Spike didn't understood what Celestia meant, but Twilight felt it wasn't important and decided to talk about what she thought was.

"Princess Celestia, after thinking it over and discussing it with Rarity, we've decided that I will be acting as her defense tomorrow."

Twice in one day, Twilight went straight to the point and showed eagerness to help Rarity, which once again, left Celestia speechless. Unlike the first time though, Celestia didn't know how to react to Twilight's choice.

"Twilight Sparkle, I know you want to free Rarity, but this time you're being way too hasty." Celestia said. "I'm already made a list of potential defense attorneys and I'm going to summon one right now."

"There's no point, Princess. I've already signed the document needed to legally make me Rarity's defense. Whether you like it or not, I'm handling Rarity's case tomorrow."

Celestia became downright shocked by what Twilight said. As She thought about what her student said, she stared down and looked at her student, making Twilight, and even Spike, feel intimidated.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." Spike said to Twilight.

_Yeah, this doesn't sound like a good idea in hindsight._ Twilight started to think.

While Celestia looked intimidated and even somewhat angry, after thinking about it in her head, she began to smile at Twilight with a more confident look. In return, Twilight stopped fearing her teacher.

"I should've expected this. I guess I've forgotten how hard the magic of friendship will drive you." Celestia admitted. Then, using her magic, she conjured up a bronze badge which had the symbols of the elements of harmony surrounding it, with the element of magic being in the center, and gave it to Twilight Sparkle.

"What's this?" Twilight asked.

"That, my little pony, is a defense attorney badge. With it, I acknowledge you as a pony's defense, and with it, you'll be able to investigate and defend Rarity's case. While I still question your plans, it seems you are the only one with the tenacity to help your friend. Twilight, I now believe that you are Rarity's best chance for getting her freedom."

Hearing that Princess Celestia had confidence in her made Twilight feel less and less worried about her choice of defending Rarity. Feeling sure of herself, Twilight accepted the badge with pride.

"Oh, Thank you Princess! I promise I'll put this to good use!" Twilight said with joy.

"Remember, the trial starts tomorrow. You won't be able to just waltz in and hope for the best. You should try to find some evidence to work with." Celestia suggested.

"Where can we find evidence on such short notice?" Spike asked.

_After what happened at Detention center, I'm sure Cestus won't want to be of help._ Twilight thought with grief. Luckily, another idea came to mind. "I guess the best plan of action is to check out the crime scene, the Gilded Horseshoe."

"Good luck, Twilight. I know you can do it." Celestia said.

* * *

**October 9, 5:00 PM **  
**The Gilded Horseshoe Hotel: Fifth Floor **  
**Prince Blueblood's room.**

After arriving at the hotel, Twilight was able to use her newly acquired attorney's badge to not only get into the hotel, but to get pointed toward the crime scene.

"Wow, this really _is_ a nice room?" Twilight admitted.

"It would probably be nicer without the police tape." Spike said.

"Yeah, probably."

As Spike said, the hotel room was quite messy due to the recent crime. Police tape was placed around the room's front door, but Twilight and Spike got around it and entered the room anyway. Right off the bat, the two saw tape on the floor, making a stallion-shaped figure.

"This must be where Blueblood was when he got attacked." Twilight said. "I wonder how it happened."

"Maybe the murder weapon is still around." Spike said.

"No, if there was a weapon, the police would probably have it. Defending Rarity will definitely be hard if we don't know if Blueblood got stabbed, smacked, or whatever."

"Maybe it was a storm cloud?"

_A storm cloud? Really, Spike? If that's the case, shouldn't it be Rainbow Dash on trial._ Twilight thought as she gave Spike an annoyed look. In return, Spike gave her an embarrassed shrug. "In any case, lets see if there's any other clues around."

Unfortunately for Twilight and Spike, there wasn't anything overly useful in the room, despite the fact that's it's a murder scene inside a luxurious hotel room. This would've been because the police had already taken what they believed to have been important evidence, leaving Twilight without anything.

After looking about though, Spike found something of interest. A key with a metal tag on it, which Spike found on the table.

"Found the hotel key!" Spike said.

"Spike, how is that important..." Twilight said as she paused. "Actually, that could be really important if it's the only way in and out of the crime scene. They police probably left it because it belonged to the hotel."

"Really? I was honestly just looking for anything that stuck out."

After taking the key from Spike, the two continued to search the room. They were both surprised to see that the room wasn't in shambles. Sadly, this meant that there was nothing that stuck out. Nothing except one little thing: A broken window at the end of the room.

"Good thing they couldn't take away an entire window." Spike said.

_I'd actually like to see Commission Cestus try to pull it out._ Twilight thought as she laughed to herself. "I wonder how this happened."

"Maybe the killer broke in through the window and attacked Blueblood." Spike suggested.

"Isn't this the fifth floor?"

After taking a close look outside, Twilight and Spike deemed that it would be impossible for anypony to break in through the window, so how the glass broke from the outside and shatter on the inside was a mystery. As Twilight found that bit of information important, she considered the broken glass as evidence.

"Well Spike, I'm afraid this might be all we can find in the room. Everything else was probably taken by the police." Twilight said, not being satisfied with the progress. "Let's take a quick look outside and get ready for tomorrow."

"That's not a bad idea. Let's just leave the hotel and-"

"Nonsense. It'll be faster if we just fly out." Twilight said as she opened the window up.

"Umm...Twilight? have you gotten used to your new wings yet?" Spike asked.

"It's just a five-story building. Watch as I jump out and gently glide towards the-"

When she wasn't paying attention, Twilight fell out the window, failed to open up her newly gained wings, and...

_CRASH!_

The young alicorn fell five stories and was lucky enough to land on a large bush, but the fall did leave her with a sore back. She was grateful that no one but Spike saw her. As she beared the pain and looked up, she took a closer look at the hotel.

_One...two...three...four...five...six floors? Blueblood's room wasn't on the top floor? I heard his standards were extremely high. You'd think he would go for the penthouse._ Twilight thought.

"Twilight!" Spike shouted from the hotel room. "Are you alright? Did you find anything weird down there?"

While Twilight didn't feel very good after her crash landing, she didn't want to break her back for nothing, so she looked around for evidence. She looked around the bushes to see if there was anything worth taking to court, hoping she would find something. Sure enough, she found something suspicious. A simple white cap. She didn't know why it was suspicious, but she was thinking more about her sore back than anything else.

"Found something, Spike!" Twilight answered.

"Great. What do we do now?" Spike asked from the fifth floor.

"This is probably all we're going to find. Let's head back to the castle and get ready for tomorrow. I'd like to catch up on some reading to get ready."

"Alrighty then. I'd like to get something to eat anyway."

_Okay. Good._ Twilight thought to herself. _I've found some stuff to work with and I'm sure the juicy stuff will be brought up in court tomorrow. From this point on, the real battle for Rarity's freedom begins. All that's left now is to wait for Spike to pull me off this bush. _

As she lied and waited for her assistant, Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself down. The next was going to be very stressful and she wasn't looking forward to it.

"Spike? Are you here yet?"

* * *

**Twilight's Records:**

**Profiles: **  
**Spike: My baby dragon assistant. Sometimes thinks with his stomach more than with head. **  
**Rarity: One of my best friends. She is accused of trying to murder Prince Blueblood. **  
**Prince Blueblood: The victim. Was apparently almost killed. **  
**Star Cestus: The commissioner of Canterlot's police force. He doesn't seem to like me that much.**

**Evidence: **  
**Attorney's Badge: Proof that I'm acting as an attorney. It's surprisingly pretty. **  
**Hotel Key: Used to open and close a door. Obviously. Prince Blueblood's hotel room to be more precise. **  
**Broken Glass: Found near a broken window. Better be careful. **  
**White Hat: A white hat. Simple as that. Found in some bushes outside the hotel.**


	4. Day 2: The Trial Part 1: The Prosecutor

**October 10, 9:50 AM**  
**Canterlot District Court**  
**Defendant Lobby**

It was the big day. Twilight Sparkle spent most of the night before studying and preparing for it. She had only a few minutes left to do some last second studying to prepare for Rarity's trial. However, with so little evidence to work with, she couldn't actually prepare a good case for her friend. Nonetheless, she was determined to see it to the end.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle and I'm fine!" Twilight said as she looked at a book. Then, after closing her eyes and taking a deep breath... "I'M TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND I'M FINE!"

After opening her eyes, Twilight realized that she had actually shouted in Spike's face, who she didn't realize was even with her.

"Why do I have the feeling that you aren't fine?" Spike asked.

"Actually, I think your right." Twilight answered. "I've been nervous since night. I think it took me hours of trying before I could even fall asleep."

"You might be over thinking this, Twilight. If Rarity is innocent, we'll be fine."

"But we have so little to work with. As it currently stands, Rarity might be found guilty. I really don't know what to do."

Not only did Twilight more nervous, she got scared. The more she thought about it, the more she less confident she was in the case. In fact, the only thing she was confident in was that she was going to fail.

"Twilight, weren't you the one who said she could do this because you saved Equestria a million times before?" Spike asked. "You went against all odds all those times before, but now that Rarity is in trouble, you won't fight back? Come on, I bet you'd be able to get the real attacker free too!"

Thanks to spike, Twilight was able to remember that everypony had confidence in her abilities, and she knew that if everypony else believed in her, she should too.

"I think I've studied enough. Come on, Spike. Let's save Rarity!" Twilight said with a smile. _But I'll still admit it, it's easier said than done._

* * *

**October 10, 10:00 AM**  
**Canterlot District Court**  
**Courtroom 1**

Twilight and Spike entered the large room and settle in at the defense bench which was directly across from the prosecution bench. As they entered, they saw that the Canterlot locals were sitting at the gallery seats up on an upper floor to give them a view of the entire courtroom. Lastly, there was very tall desk ahead of the defense and prosecution benches where the judge sat, who was a chestnut colored stallion.

"Court is now in session. Is everyone ready?" The judge asked.

"The defense is ready your honor." Twilight answered. After taking a good look at the judge though, she thought he looked familiar. "I've seen you before. Aren't you from Ponyville?"

"Hey, he is!" Spike said. "You call yourself the Doctor or something, right?"

"Aahh, Twilight Sparkle. You're the defense? Fancy that." The Doctor said. "Yes, Princess Celestia needed someone she could trust, so she asked me act as the judge for this case. Look! She gave me a gavel and everything!"

_Isn't this guy a friend of Ponyville's mail courier? I'm surprised he knows the princess so well. Maybe I need to get out more._ Twilight thought to herself, but then she thought of something more important. "Hey, if you're the judge, then who's the prosecutor?"

"That would be me!" A mysterious voice said.

Out of nowhere, a fanfare began to play throughout the courtroom. From the entrance, a red carpet began to roll out as a drumroll played. There was an awful lot of build up for the prosecution's entrance, but it left everypony in the court more confused than impressed. After the carpet reached to the front of the judge's seat, the other end of the carpet began to pull itself into the room.

At some point, the red carpet had clearly transformed into a tongue which was sucked up into a strange creature's mouth. At that moment, everypony realized that a tall and slender being was standing in the court. Much to everypony's surprise, Discord, the lord of chaos, was in the courtroom.

"Ta-daa!" Discord said as he bowed.

"Discord, go home. Now's a bad day to deal with you." Twilight said.

**OBJECTION!**

When Discord shouted his objection, he was standing at the prosecution bench with no explanation on when he got there. "I can't go home. I'm the persecutor...I mean, prosecutor."

"W-WHAT!? You?" Twilight asked. _Oh, right. I remember hearing that Celestia had a problem finding lawyers for both sides of the case. But why hire Discord?_

The entire court went into an uproar after hearing Discord's claim as nopony could believe it.

"Order! Order in the court!" The Doctor said as he banged his gavel, which was followed by a snicker. "Oh my, I can't believe I just said that! In any case, if the prosecution is ready, please make your opening statement."

"Very well then." Discord said as he took a deep breath. "Hello ponies of the court. I am Discord, the master, king, and dare I say god of chaos! I am the most powerful being in this entire land, far greater than that of Celestia, so please feel free to bow down to me and-"

**OBJECTION!**

Twilight was not at all pleased with Discord. "What kind of opening statement is this? It has nothing to do with the case!"

Discord wagged his finger at Twilight before responding. "My dear Twilight Sparkle, the purpose of the opening statement is to allow the prosecution to state facts without any arguments."

_You're saying that you being arrogant can't be argued?_Twilight thought.

"I have to agree with the defence." The Doctor said. "Discord, can you please focus on the case at hand?"

"Don't you mean at hoof?" Discord said, which made the Doctor snicker. "Don't need to. I've got somepony who has to come in and explain all of that to court. Isn't this great? I basically get paid for letting others do my dirty work!"

"Discord, all three of us are doing this as a favour to Princess Celestia." The Doctor explained. "In any case, bring this pony in. I'm still clueless about why Miss Rarity is here Today."

_Finally, I'm going to get some real answers._ Twilight thought.

While Discord was unhappy by the fact that he wasn't getting paid, he decided to continue anyway. "Fine. I'm calling in the one in charge of this case, Commission Star Cestus."

* * *

Shortly after, the small red stallion, Star Cestus, walked into the courtroom and slowly walked to the witness stand. He looked very nervous and stared at the audience more than the judge.

"Witness, please tell us your name and job." Discord ordered.

Cestus didn't answer since he still felt uncomfortable with where he was. Seeing the high classed ponies of Canterlot staring down at him was a lot of pressure for him.

"That can't be the same guy who you fought Yesterday, Twilight." Spike said.

"He certainly left his comfort zone." Twilight admitted.

"Witness, please state your name!" The Doctor requested.

"I'm Star Cestus. I'm the chief commissioner of Canterlot's police force. Since attempted regicide is such a serious offence, I'm leading the investigation." "Cestus answered, but the tone in his voice made it clear he didn't feel confident.

"Now now, Red, I know you hate pretty much everypony in this room, but I'm a fan of these money bags either." Discord said to Cestus to calm him down. "Remember what I said, if anypony tries to bother you, I'll turn them into an eggplant! Or if it's Twilight over there, a tempura."

_Something tells me a hospital could never save me from that._ Twilight thought with great discomfort.

"Haha! Yeah, I guess you're right!" Cestus said in a much perkier tone. "These fat cats ain't got nothing on me with you by my side!"

"Very good then. Please explain to us all the details of this crime." The Doctor said.

Twilight and Spike were careful to hear every word Cestus had to say, for this was the information they had waited to hear since the day before.

"The crime scene took place on the fifth floor of the Gilded Horseshoe, the hotel Princess Blueblood was staying at. The prince was unconscious on the ground after taking a hit to the head by a blunt object. The medical team concluded that he had been taken out by a single blow to left temple."

"A single hit to the head? And from a mare no less?" The Doctor asked.

"We believe the weapon used was this gold bar. It's 18 karats, so the shape is preserved quite well."

"The weapon? The court accept this as important evidence!"

Since the court accepted gold bar as evidence, Twilight decided to keep it into consideration as well.

"Red! If I recall, you arrested Rarity as the prime suspect." Discord said. "Why did you do that?"

"We arrested her because she was the only other pony at the crime scene at the time. After gathering up more evidence afterwards, there was enough solid evidence to build a case."

"Commissioner, can you please testify about this evidence?" The Doctor asked.

This was it. After hearing the testimony, Twilight would finally get to ask some important questions. The only downside was that since everything she would hear would be brand new information, she would have to come up with questions on the fly.

**-Testimony: Solid evidence-**

_"When I walked in the hotel room, the first thing I saw was Miss Rarity and the victim, the latter on the ground of course. After she saw me, she fainted and was down for about half-an hour. The gold bar was also there in front of her. We later concluded that the gold bar belonged to the Rarity. Since the prince almost died from a blunt object when Rarity had a blunt object, we put two and two together."_

**-End of testimony-**

"Hmm. So you arrested her because she was a suspect, but now you're certain she was the attacker?" The Doctor asked.

"Well personally, I don't think she did it, but the evidence is right there."

"Very well then. Miss Sparkle, you may now Cross-examine the witness."

"Cross-examine?" Spike asked.

"It just means I can ask Cestus some questions now." Twilight answered. _I sure hope I can ask the right ones. Now that I'm taking the stage, I may get as nervous as Cestus was._

**-Cross-examination-**

_"When I walked in the hotel room, the first thing I saw was Miss Rarity and the victim, the latter on the ground of course."_

**HOLD IT!**

"You arrived when Rarity was still there? How did you ger there so fast?" Twilight asked.

"Actually, I was given an anonymous tip a head of time." Cestus answered. "I recieved a letter when I was patroling the streets. Since the hotel was closer to me than the station, I went straight there to investigate."

_Somepony knew Blueblood would get attacked? That just raises further questions._

_"After she saw me, she fainted and was down for about half-an hour."_

**HOLD IT!**

"I think I already know why, but why did she faint?" Twilight asked.

"If you tried to kill somepony and somepony else comes along to catch you in the act, wouldn't you have been surprised?" Cestus asked in return.

"I guess you have a point there. Okay, continue."

_"The gold bar was also there in front of her. We later concluded that the gold bar belonged to the Rarity."_

**HOLD IT!**

"Rarity isn't all that rich. What makes you think that gold is hers? And why do you think it's the weapon anyway?"

"We searched the entire room. That gold bar is the only item that's heavy and solid enough to do the damage that was done. We also did some forensics at the station and found hoof marks on it, which belonged to Rarity. We also found some magic residue on it which also belonged to her as well."

"Magic residue?" Spike asked.

"When we unicorns use our magic, it often leaves behind a small bit left on what it was used on." Twilight explained. "It means Rarity used her magic to move the gold bar."

"This is clearly important Evidence." The Doctor said. "The court will accept the forensics report as evidence."

And so, the court accepted the new evidence, with Twilight getting a copy of the report. With so much DNA found on the weapon, Twilight's case began to go from bad to worse.

_"Since the prince almost died from a blunt object when Rarity had a blunt object, we put two and two together."_

**HOLD IT!**

"What do you mean?"

"Well, its common sense. She was there, Blueblood was there, and the gold bar was there. Even a child could figure out what happened."

_I have to admit, that does make sense. But I can't believe it because I know Rarity didn't attack the Prince. But why was she there at all?_

As there was no other questions Twilight could ask, the Doctor decided to end the cross-examination, banging his gavel to make it official. Twilight could tell he had fun banging it.

"So the defendant was at the crime scene with the weapon, which belonged to her, while still at the crime scene? It does seem like an open and shut case." The Doctor said.

"It can't end like this. I need to think of something." Twilight said quietly.

"This all seems weird. I wonder how this whole thing could happen at all?" Spike asked.

An epiphany struck Twilight when Spike asked his question. After finally getting an idea, Twilight slammed her front hooves on the table and grabbed everypony's attention.

"I'd like to hear another testimony!" Twilight stated.

"Another one? What more is there to say?" The Doctor asked.

"With all the evidence in place, I'd like to hear the theory about how this attack occurred. If the act is impossible to do, then we can't blame Rarity!"

"How can it be impossible?" Cestus asked. "All you would have to do is walk in, and then POW!"

"It seems the commissioner does have theory then." The Doctor said. "Will you please explain how you think the defendant committed the crime?"

_Yes! Another testimony. I flopped on the last one, but maybe I can find a hole to poke through this time_ Twilight though with confidence.

**-Testimony: How she commited the crime-**

_"Well, it seems pretty obvious, doesn't it? This seems like such a simple crime, so it would've been done in a simple way. Miss Rarity would just walk in and nail the prince in the head. I find this to be an open and shut case."_

**-End of testimony-**

"Short, but easy enough to understand." The Doctor said. "The prosecution has been quiet for a while now. Discord, do you have anything to add?"

"I've got nothing." Discord said as he laid back in a chair, caring very little about the trial. "I barely have to do anything. This case is as good as over!"

_Of course he wouldn't take this serious. At least I won't have to worry about him putting up a fight._ Twilight thought.

"Very well then. The defense may start the cross-examination." The Doctor said.

-**Cross-examination-**

_"Well, it seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?"_

**HOLD IT!**

"No, it doesn't seem obvious." Twilight said.

"Are you saying if you walked in the room with a dead body in it, the other pony you see wouldn't be suspicious?" Cestus asked.

Much to Twilight's embarrassment, she couldn't give an answer without making an idiot of herself, so she stayed quiet.

"The defense will refrain from asking obvious questions." The Doctor said. "Please continue."

_"This seems like such a simple crime, so it would've been done in a simple way. Miss Rarity would just walk in and nail the prince in the head."_

**HOLD IT!**

"So you think Rarity walked into the room and attacked?"

"That's how it would seem." Cestus answered. "That's why I think this is so simple. She would just open the door, grab the prince's attention, and whack him in the face."

_Aha! I've actually got evidence to suggest otherwise._ Twilight thought with confidence. "Your honor, can I have that last part added to the testimony?"

"Hmm...very well then. Commissioner, please revise your testimony."

_"She would just open the door, walk in, and attack."_

**OBJECTION!**

Nopony thought that Twilight would've found a contradiction in such a short testimony, but sure enough, she found one.

"So you honestly believe that Rarity walked through the door and attacked Prince Blueblood?" Twilight asked.

"No, I think she took a cannon and blasted the door down." Cestus said sarcastically. "Of course she openned the door."

"I'm sorry, but that's not possible! To open a door, you would surely need to use a key, and this room key was found in the room!" Twilight explained as she showed the hotel's key to the court. "How can Rarity go in if the door is locked?"

Cestus got startled at the idea Twilight brought up, for it would've been impossible for anypony to open a locked door. He began to stutter as he nervously tried to think of an explanation.

**OBJECTION!**

"Twilight, come now." Discord said after finally speaking up. "Whether or not the door was locked makes no difference. Somepony clearly got into the room and attacked the prince."

"But if the door was locked, then how did this crime happen at all?" Twilight asked.

"You brought it up, so why don't you give us a reason?"

_Why am I doing everything? Are you even the prosecution?_ Twilight asked herself. "Fine. I'll not only explain how the attacker got in, I'll show you!"

**TAKE THAT!**

Twilight then presented to the court several large pieces of glass. Most ponies in the court, even the Doctor, were confused by the evidence, but Discord was unfazed by it.

"Miss Sparkle, could you please explain this?" The Doctor asked.

"This glass was found by the broken window in the hotel room. This means that window was broken from the outside, and the only way that could be possible is if the attacker broke in the room from outside."

"So you're saying that Rarity got inside the hotel room by breaking through the window?" Discord asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying!"

The entire courtroom became silent at that point. Nopony moved, nopony uttered a sound, and nopony knew what to make of what happened. For the longest while, Twilight had a proud look on her face from when she figured out how the attacker got in, but it became awkward after fully realizing that she made things look worse for Rarity.

_Did I seriously just fall for that?_ Twilight asked herself.

"Oh...Twilight." Spike said in disbelief.

"Miss Sparkle, it seems you're not entirely confident in your own case." The Doctor said.

"Eh...no, I'm confident. I'm...just not as prepared as I thought I was." Twilight said.

"I was expecting to just waltz in and win, so I'm a little under-preapred myself." Discord confessed.

After thinking about the parictament the defense and prosecution were in, the Doctor came to a conclusion. "As I feel it's still too early to make a verdict, I'm going to call for a ten minute recess to allow you both to re-examine your cases before we continue."

After banging his gavel and giggling at the thought of doing it, the Doctor got up and left the courtroom for the break. Discord snapped his fingers and teleported out of the room, but Twilight didn't leave as quickly. She was still in disbelief that fell for Discord's trick.

The confidence she had at the start of the trial was slipping away from her.

* * *

**Twilight's Records:**

**Profiles:**  
**Spike: My baby dragon assistant. Sometimes thinks with his stomach more than with head.**  
**Rarity: One of my best friends. She is accused of trying to murder Prince Blueblood.**  
**Prince Blueblood: The victim. Was apparently almost killed.**  
**Discord: The lord and master of chaos. Apperently the lord of prosscutors as well.**  
**Star Cestus: The commissioner of Canterlot's police force. He doesn't seem to like me that much.**  
**The Doctor: A mysterious resident from Ponyville who seems to know Princess Celestia. He's the acting judge of the case.**

**Evidence:**  
**Attorney's Badge: Proof that I'm acting as an attorney. It's surprisingly pretty.**  
**Hotel Key: Used to open and close a door. Obviously.**  
**Broken Glass: Found near a broken window. Better be careful.**  
**White Hat: A white hat. Simple as that. Found in some bushes.**  
**Gold Bar: A solid gold bar the police found at the crime scene. Believed to of been the weapon used at the crime.**  
**Forensic report: States that Rarity's hoof print and magic was found on the gold bar. Another unicorn's magic was also found on the gold.**


	5. Day 2: Trial Part 2: Not a handy guard

**October 10, 10:42 AM**  
**Canterlot District Court**  
**Defendant Lobby**

_Wow. I can't believe how messy I've made this._ Twilight thought.

After a short, but wild start to Rarity's trial, Twilight was given a chance to calm down and reconsider her approach to her case, but all she could do was think about her slip of the tongue which caused everypony in the court to think that she though Rarity committed the crime.

"Come on, Twilight. You just made one small mistake." Spike said. "Just go back in there and take it back!"

"Easier said then done, Spike. I just made a very bad impression in there, and from what I've read in my law books, a charismatic and confident lawyer is strong, and I highly doubt I'm either one." Twilight explained.

"You can say that again, Twilight Sparkle."

Overhearing Twilight and Spike, Discord approached the two and barged his way into their conversation. His appearance alone filled Twilight with anger.

"Discord..." Twilight said as she was ready to lose it, not being happy with the stunt Discord pulled.

"There there, my little pony. I understand. It's not your fault that you're trying to get a killer off death row." Discord said with a smug smile.

"She's not a killer!" Twilight said in a raised tone.

"Oh, that's right. This was attempted murder, wasn't it?"

During the ten minute break, rather than preparing his case, Discord decided to harass Twilight, making it harder for her to get ready for the trial. Seeing Discord appear in court was already the last thing she wanted to see.

"You really are something, you know that?" Twilight asked.

"Why thank you. I do my very best to help ponykind at your expense." Discord said.

"Help ponykind? You've done no such thing! So far, you've been making everypony think Rarity tried to kill a prince, humiliated me in front of an equestrian court, and just a minute ago, I saw you through a window, throwing a port-o-john over the roof."

"Yeah, I couldn't open that weird blue, metal box, so I got angry at it. I think it belongs to the judge." Discord explained. "Anyway, it's not my fault that this is happening. I'm just-"

"Yes, it IS your fault that this is happening!" Twilight interrupted. "If I recall, the reason my and my friends freed you from your stone prison was so you could benefit ponykind, but you clearly still don't want that!"

"What do you mean, Twi?" Spike asked.

"Oh, come on, Spike! It's obvious that he wants to get rid of one of us so we can't use the Elements of Harmony on him again. It's the only thing he has to gain from all this!"

Discord was stunned by Twilight's outburst. He almost couldn't think of anything to say afterwards. After a long, awkward silence, Discord became crossed with Twilight, and since everypony knew how powerful Discord was, seeing so much as a frown on his face can be dangerous for all. Twilight quickly regretted snapping at Discord.

"As it so happens, my dear Twilight, Princess Celestia personally asked me to be the prosecutor." Discord said. "I even tried to turn it down since Rarity is a friend of Fluttershy, so she resorted to bribing me to do it! All I have to gain from this, whether I win or lose, is to get my own room in the palace."

_A room? That's all he's doing this for? Oh boy, have I done it now._ Twilight thought with embarrassment.

"On second thought, I'm going to enjoy winning this trial. Give your last goodbyes to your friend, Twilight Sparkle!"

With the snap of his finger while still being upset, Discord disappeared from Twilight and Spike's sight to prepare for the trial.

"You've really done it this time, Twilight." Spike said.

"Yeah...I guess I did." Twilight said with sadness. "But it's nit important now. What's important is that we get Rarity acquitted and not fall for another one of Discord's tricks."

* * *

**October 10, 10:50 AM**  
**Canterlot District Court**  
**Courtroom 1**

"Court is now back in session!" The Doctor said as he banged his gavel. "Miss Sparkle, are you ready to continue?"

With the break over, the defense, the prosecution, and the audience returned to their seats and the trial was back on its way.

"The defense is ready, and I assure you that I still plan to prove that my friend is innocent." Twilight said.

"Very good then. How about the prosecution?" The Doctor asked.

"Indeed, I am ready." Discord answered. "Now then, to pick off from where we were last, I suggest you hand down your verdict, your honor!"

"Oh, yes, that seems to be the best route to take, now isn't it?"

**OBJECTION!**

"That is not where we were before the break." Twilight stated. "We were talking about how the attacker broke through a window to reach Blueblood."

"Yes, and even you said Rarity was the one who did it." Discord said.

_I guess it was too much to hope for everypony to forget that._ Twilight thought. "It was just a slip of the tongue, but it does still raise an interesting question, Discord. If Rarity was the one who broke in, then how did she do it when the room was on the fifth floor?"

The audience went into a small uproar and began talking to one another since Twilight brought up a good point. After all, it's physically impossible for a normal unicorn to simply fly up unless they were masters of magic.

"Order! Order in the court!" The Doctor said after banging his gavel twice.

"Oh, Twilight. So loyal to your friends that I wonder why you're the element of magic." Discord, wagging his finger at her. "Sadly, it closes your mind off to the way for anypony to reach the fifth floor of a hotel room."

_I've got a bad feeling about this._

"I present to the court this stepladder." Discord said as he snapped his fingers, making a ladder appear out of thin air. "This was found out side the Gilded Horseshoe. I'll give you three guesses which room it took you to."

The Doctor nodded at the new evidence. "Very well. The court will except the stepladder as evidence."

**OBJECTION!**

"You can't accept that evidence just yet." Twilight said. "The court should know that that's not a stepladder, but just a ladder."

**OBJECTION!**

"Ladder, stepladder, whatever. They're the exact same thing." Discord responded.

"Wrong. A stepladder is a folding ladder that can be freestanding. A ladder isn't straight and needs to be leaning on something. To be more specific, this is an extending ladder." Twilight explained."

"You know Twilight, if you focus less on ladders and more on the trial, you might actually win. Let me guess, you've read five books about ladders, right?"

_Maybe I shouldn't tell him that the fifth book won't be out until the 24th._ Twilight thought.

The Doctor banged his gavel three times to get the attention of the defense and prosecution. "Order! This court does not care about the difference between ladders and stepladders. Whatever you call this thing, I'm accepting it as evidence."

After a short debate between ladders and stepladders, the ladder was accepted as evidence and the trial continued. Unfortunately for Twilight, the new evidence wasn't a good for her.

"At any rate, this ladder was found leaning on the window of Prince Blueblood's room." Discord explained. "This and the broken glass proves that somepony climbed up, smashed the window, and entered to attack the prince. Since there was only one other pony found, it's safe to say Miss Rarity was the one."

"Agreed." The Doctor said. "I feel I'm ready to hand down my verdict right now."

**OBJECTION!**

"I have to disagree. Rarity was in the very same hotel as Blueblood. That said, why couldn't she of just knocked on his door and get invited in?" Twilight asked. "If you ask me, that would be must simpler than breaking in."

Discord gave a confused look to Twilight, but after thinking what she said over in his head, he began to smile with confidence. "Twilight, I don't know what your friend told you, but Rarity was never in the hotel."

"W-what?" Twilight asked.

"I've checked the names of everypony who had a room in the hotel that day. Heck, I even managed to get the names of everypony who checked in that month. And guess what. Rarity's name was not on the list, which means only one thing." After whipping his tail at the wall behind him, he said with confidence..."Your friend has lied to you about her crime!"

Twilight was in shock when she heard the news. "Wha...WHAAAATT!?"

An uproar occurred once again after the new information was brought up. It seemed as if Twilight's confidence in Rarity's case was completely drained once again, and this cause the entire audience to start talking loudly..

"Order! Order! Order!" The Doctor said as after banging his gavel three times. "I will have order or I will clear this courtroom!"

Twilight had to think very fast. With no record of Rarity being at the hotel, yet being at the crime scene anyway, it wouldn't take much more evidence to give her a guilty verdict. Her only hope was for Twilight to keep the trial going until she could figure something out.

"Discord!" Twilight said as she banged her hooves on the table. "I'd like to see these names. I want to know beyond a reasonable doubt that Rarity didn't have a room at the hotel."

"If I must." Discord said with a smug smile. "I'd like to submit this check-in list to the court."

The court accepted the list as evidence and a copy of it was given to Twilight to study. She gave the list a long read, hoping she missed Rarity's name, but as Discord said, her name didn't show up. Right as Twilight was about to lose hope, she noticed something odd about the list.

"There? Happy now, Crylight Sparkle?" Discord asked.

"C-Cryslight Sparkle? Was that suppose to be an insult?" Twilight asked.

"I think Twilight Snarkle would've been funnier." Spike said.

"You're all wrong." The Doctor said. "Her name should be Uptight Snootle. Err...I mean, order! Keep the insults to a minimum please.

_Why is even the judge making fun of me._ Twilight thought, but she disregarded it after remembering what she had to say. "Anyway, I have some questions about these room arrangements. More specifically, the top three floors."

* * *

_Floor 6: Filthy Rich, Gold Digger, and Diamond Tiara. Fancy Pants and Flashy Skirt._

_Floor 5: Prince Blueblood and Giant Hand_

_Floor 4: Sapphire Shores. Fluer Dis Lee. Soarin and Spitfire. Rapidfire and Fleetfoot. Photo Finish. Hoity Toity. Jet Set and Upper Crust. Gustave Le Grand._

* * *

"Anypony notice anything odd?" Twilight asked. "Because I've noticed three things on this list. that may interest the court."

"Some Wonderbolts went on what seem like double dates and Blueblood's name literally is Prince. So what?" Discord asked.

"Since the sixth floor is the top floor, is then that would make them the penthouse rooms. If that's the case, why didn't Blueblood, a pony with such high standards and tastes, would settle for anything less than the very best?"

Discord wagged his at Twilight for asking what he thought was a silly question. "Obviously, the rooms already booked by two very rich clients. Since the top floor only has two rooms, he had to settle for the next best thing. Nothing suspicious about that."

Discord made a good argument. Twilight recognized Filthy Rich and Fancy Pant's names and remembered they were very wealthy ponies. For that matter, she recognized every single name on the list. Regardless, she had other points to make.

"Fine, but can you explain to me why there are fewer ponies on the fifth floor than on the fourth and sixth? And if that isn't suspicious, then who's this pony that's sharing a room with the Prince?"

"Hmm...that's a good question." Discord said as he scratched his head. Then, after snapping his fingers... "How about we ask him?"

"Ask him?" Twilight asked.

"You're honor, I'd like to call my next witness to the stand to completely crush the last bit of hope in Twilight Sparkle and her friends."

"That sounded a bit mean-spirited, but I agree. Bring in the next witness." The Doctor said.

Twilight didn't think there would be another witness for Discord to bring in, and because of how unexpected it was, Twilight didn't come completely prepared for what happened next.

* * *

A minute later, the next witness entered the court. He was a very large and bulky grey pegasus with what looked like a stone hand for a cutie mark. He wore armor similar to what the Canterlot royal guard wore, only his was customized to be a dark brown with orange trimming . He wore a large helmet with a green crest on top. The helmet covered his head almost completely, hiding everything but his eyes.

"Witness, state your name and occupation, now!" Discord ordered.

"I am Giant Hand. The 106th captain of the royal guard." The witness said in a deep, serious voice.

_That's sort of an odd name. Although, I guess Twilight Sparkle isn't a common name either._ Twilight thought to herself.

"Mr. Hand, can you please tell the court what you were doing on the day Prince Blueblood got attacked?" Discord asked. "Twilight Sparkle would also like to know why you two were the only one's on the fifth floor of the hotel."

"Very well." Giant Hand said as he began to share his story. "I was the prince's bodyguard that day. I was ordered to watch out for him during the day as he doesn't feel comfortable without having a royal guard. As for why we were the only ones on that floor, it's because the prince convinced the hotel's manager to let him have the floor all to himself since he couldn't get one on the top floor."

The audience of the court all agreed with Giant Hand's claim as it answered the question perfectly.

"So the reason there were so many ponies on the fourth floor was because they got downgraded?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes. The manager was afraid of somepony of royalty to give him trouble, so he pulled some strings and got everypony on that floor to a lower floor for a discounted price. The only reason he couldn't do the same for the top floor was because they had more money and power than the Prince."

_So it's possible for non-royalty to outclass royalty? That's amazing. Although it could just mean that Blueblood is a lousy prince._ Twilight thought. "Hang on. If you were watching him that day, then how did the prince get attacked?"

"I believe he will need to testify about that." The Doctor said. "Witness, please explained your story about what happened at the time of the attack."

With a new testimony, Twilight was given a new chance to find contradictions to help Rarity's case, but she knew that if she couldn't find one, the trial would may as well end.

* * *

**-Testimony: Bodyguard duty-**

"Prince _Blueblood prefered to be by himself or with others of his kind, so I was never actually in the room. Instead, I stood out in front of his door for the day. Throughout the day, I saw no other ponies on the floor. It wasn't until Star Cestus of the police arrived that I realized something happened."_

**-End of Testimony-**

* * *

The doctor and thought about the testimony, then smiled and nod at Giant Hand. "Yes, that seems to be a solid testimony. Nothing seems out of the ordinary aside from the attempted murder."

"Does this mean you can announce your verdict now?" Discord asked with hope in his eyes.

"Not until after Miss. Sparkle cross-examines the witness. You may start now."

_Alright, Twilight. Don't screw this up again._ She thought to herself.

* * *

**-Cross-examination-**

_"Prince Blueblood prefered to be by himself or with others of his kind, so I was never actually in the room."_

**HOLD IT!**

"But isn't it possible for you to go in at all? Surely you had a key to the room as well."

"The prince asked for only one key to the room for himself. I was stuck with being outside for the trip."

_That's cruel. I better remember not to treat any guard I myself may get so poorly. Although this does mean he couldn't get into the room. I guess I can't try and pin this mess on him._

_"Instead, I stood out in front of his door for the day. Throughout the day, I saw no other ponies on the floor."_

**HOLD IT!**

"You saw nopony else? Are you absolutely sure of this?"

"Yes. The prince made it very clear that he and I would be the only ones allowed on the fifth floor. From when I was tasked to watch the room and until Star Cestus arrived at the crime scene, I didn't see, hear, or even smell anything."

While cross-examining Giant Hand, Twilight noticed that Spike had a strange look on his face. She didn't realize until then that this whole time, Spike was trying to find some kind of hole in the case as well.

"Something wrong, Spike?" Twilight asked.

"So...he didn't see OR hear anything?" Spike said, being confused.

Twilight didn't get where Spike was going at first, but after repeating after Giant Hand out loud, she finally figured something out.

"If you're so confident about what you just said, can you add it to the testimony?"

Discord shook his head in shame. "Oh my dear Twilight. Forcing the witness to repeat himself. Desperate to make this last as long as possible I see."

Nonetheless, Giant Hand agreed and amended his testimony for twilight.

_"I saw, heard, and smelt nothing wrong until the police arrived."_

**OBJECTION!**

"So you honestly didn't hear anything happen?" Twilight asked. "Not even the actual crime?"

"No, I didn't hear any...Ahh!" Giant Hand said as he realized what he said.

"So despite being several feet away from the crime, you didn't hear Prince Blueblood's struggle, or even the sound of the window breaking when the attacker broke in the room!"

Giant Hand's eyes practically shot out of his helmet after Twilight's discovery. There was no reason for him to not hear anything when standing out at the door, which meant only one thing. He was lying.

"Explain yourself!" The Doctor said. "How can you not hear your own boss and the attacker?"

Although he was wearing a helmet, even the ponies on the upper floor could tell that Giant Hand was sweating up a storm. He had an answer, but he clearly didn't want to give it.

"Come on! Your captain of the royal guard and are under oath." Twilight said. "If you don't give us an answer, we'll be able to cast suspicion on-

**OBJECTION!**

"And I think you have nothing, my little lawyer." Discord said as he wagged his finger at Twilight. "Captain, I'm really disappointed in you. I thought you were going to come clean."

_Come Clean?_ Twilight thought.

"Your honor, I would like Captain Giant Hand to make another testimony. One that explains this inconsistency. Once he does, you'll understand why he didn't hear the moment the window broke."

"Well, my job is to hear everything, but is your witness willing to say everything?" The Doctor asked.

Giant Hand was quiet and nervous after learning that he needed to make a new testimony, but because he was at risk of being a suspect himself, he knew he had no choice. "I'm...ready to speak."

Twilight thought she was close to winning Rarity's freedom, but it became clear as crystal that the trial would go on for a while longer. Because of this, Twilight also started to sweat bullets.

_I don't know what Discord has up his sleeve, but know that Rarity didn't do anything and that this witness is mighty suspicious. Whatever it is he has to say, I'll be certain to tear it a new one. I've got to._

* * *

**Author Note: I now feel like I actually am writing an Ace Attorney story here. Hope it's not to hard to read doe those who have no idea what that is.**

**Twilight's notes:**

**Profiles:**

**Spike: My baby dragon assistant. Sometimes thinks with his stomach more than with head.**  
**Rarity: One of my best friends. She is accused of trying to murder Prince Blueblood.**  
**Prince Blueblood: The victim. Was apparently almost killed.**  
**Discord: The lord and master of chaos. Apperently the lord of prosscutors as well.**  
**Star Cestus: The commissioner of Canterlot's police force. He doesn't seem to like me that much.**  
**The Doctor: A mysterious resident from Ponyville who seems to know Princess Celestia. He's the acting judge of the case.**  
**Giant Hand: Captain of the royal gaurd. Was Blueblood's personal guard on the day of the crime.**

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's Badge: Proof that I'm acting as an attorney. It's surprisingly pretty.**  
**Hotel Key: Used to open and close a door. Obviously.**  
**Broken Glass: Found near a broken window. Better be careful.**  
**White Hat: A white hat. Simple as that. Found in some bushes.**  
**Gold Bar: A solid gold bar the police found at the crime scene. Believed to of been the weapon used at the crime.**  
**Forensic report: States that Rarity's hoof print and magic was found on the gold bar. Another unicorn's magic was also found on the gold.**  
**Ladder: Found at the crime scene. Somepony used it to get into the hotel room from the outside.**  
**List of names: Contains the names of ponies who checked in athe the Gilded Horseshoe.**


	6. Day 3: Trial Part 3: Coffee Causes Chaos

Due to the poor testimony done by the witness, the royal guard Giant Hand, he needed to revise it and tell what really happened. Discord was very confident with what the witness had to say, which made Twilight worried about what was about to happen.

* * *

**-Testimony: Why I didn't hear the prince-**

_"Actually, I have a confession. I wasn't at my post the entire time. I got a little tired thirsty. I figured nopony would dare try to cross Prince Blueblood, so I left to get a coffee. When I got it, I came right back to my post, which was when I found out what happened."_

**-End of Testimony-**

* * *

"The captain of the royal guard left their post?" The Doctor asked as he shook his head. "Shame on you."

"Yeah, how could you?" Twilight asked. "I thought it's suppose to be a great honor to risk their lives protecting royalty."

Giant Hand hesitated with his answer, cringing as he was thinking. "There is no honor with working for Prince Blueblood. We sometimes assign the job of watching over the prince as a form of punishment. When that can't be done, we simply take turns. If I had a choice, I'd pass my turn to somepony else."

_Is working for the prince really that bad?_ Twilight thought with disbelief, but she quickly shrugged it off when it was time for her cross-examination.

* * *

**-Cross-examination-**

_"Actually, I have a confession. I wasn't at my post the entire time."_

**HOLD IT!**

"Is working for Blueblood so bad that you risk leaving him alone?" Twilight asked.

"For him? You have no idea. We're treated more like butlers than actual guards. My last subordinate who worked for the prince had to give him a sponge bath or be dishonorably discharged."

Every single pony in the courtroom shuddered in disgust by what they had heard. The Doctor, Twilight, and even Discord felt sympathy for the captain's fellow guards.

_I'm going to have Princess Celestia raise her guard's salary after hearing what I just heard._ Twilight thought to herself. "Alright. Continue."

_"I got a little tired and thirsty."_

**HOLD IT!**

"How long were you standing outside the hotel room? If you were tired and thirsty, I assume you were there a long time." Twilight asked.

Giant Hand thought about the question carefully as he didn't want to answer incorrectly. "I woke up, got ready, and stood out to watch the door from 9:00 am until I left my post. I was able to stay out longer because I packed a small lunch with me."

_So That means he was on guard duty the entire day. I guess it would've been impossible for anypony to break in with him so close to his boss. So the attacker definitely broke in when he left._ Twilight thought.

_"I figured nopony would dare try to cross Prince Blueblood, so I left to get a coffee."_

**HOLD IT!**

"Here's an important question. What time did you leave to get your coffee?" Twilight asked.

"Hmm...I don't know." Giant Hand answered.

**OBJECTION!**

"I can answer that one." Discord said. "When Giant Hand met up with Red and found the prince and Rarity, with the former being half-dead, they recorded that the time was 2:15 PM."

_Ah ha! For once, Discord has done something right._ Twilight thought with a smile. _Since we can't get the time of the crime due to no autopsy report, we can narrow it down instead._

"That's right! So..." Giant Hand said as he continued to think. "I remember being out for about fifteen minutes before coming back."

Twilight was satisfied with the information she was given, as it at least offered more specific details of the crime, namely an estimated time. However, she still had another question and hoped to get an answer just as easily.

"Captain, can you tell me where you got your coffee?"

**OBJECTION!**

"Twilight, please don't tell me you think his coffee is suspicious." Discord said. "Could the entire trial change because he got it at the hotel or at a Star Swirl Bucks?"

"Discord, please just let me question the witness." Twilight asked.

"Fine, but only talk about the important stuff."

As Discord was forcing Twilight to change the subject, she began to suspect something, but he never said anything before until Twilight asked about the coffee.

_With how solid this testimony is, I don't think I can find any contradictions. If there isn't one, then why would Discord interrupt me now?_ Twilight asked herself.

"Twilight, aren't you going to finish talking to this guy?" Spike asked.

"I want to, but I think Discord is trying to stop me from doing it. In which case..." More curious than ever, Twilight banged her hooves on the table and asked her question. "I really am going to know more about where you got your coffee. I think this will change the case."

"You think this will change the case? Fine." Discord said as he magically makes a mug of coffee appear out of thin air. "You really want his coffee? Here it is!"

Completely out of the blue, the coffee Discord made was thrown across the room and landed on Twilight's head, scolding her with hot coffee. She was surprisingly quiet after getting splashed by the hot coffee and having the mug hung on her horn.

_Should I shout in anger for having my horn be used for ring toss, or scream in pain from first-degree burns?_ Twilight thought.

Noticing the chaos going on, the Doctor banged his gavel to get order.

"Will the prosecution refrain from literally making attacks on the defense?" The Doctor asked. "Anyway, I'll allow for the defense's request. Will the witness revise their testimony about how they got their coffee?"

As requested, Giant Hand changed his testimony to answer Twilight's question.

_"Actually, I got my coffee at the Star Swirl Bucks across the street from the hotel."_

**HOLD IT!**

"So you went across the street? Couldn't you of gotten a coffee at the hotel?" Twilight asked.

"Fifteen bits for a hotel coffee? I may be captain of the royal guard, but I'm not made of money. On top of that, with Proposition G3 practically passed, I'll need to save all the money I can." Giant Hand explained.

_Proposition G3? Ugh, whatever. Wait, fifteen bits for a coffee? What a rip._ Twilight thought angrily, but she dismissed the thoughts after realizes that none of it were important details. "Alright, I won't question why you went across the street, but can you at least tell me what happened while you were gone?"

"I'm afraid not." Giant Hand answered. "Aside from saving thirteen bits on coffee, nothing special happened. I even kept the eye out at the hotel just in case."

"And even then, you saw nothing?" Twilight asked.

"After my coffee, I turned back and as I went into the hotel, Commissioner Star Cestus caught up to me after hearing some anonymous tip about the prince. You already know the rest from there. Until then, nothing happened that I can remember."

"You see, Twilight? You wasted a testimony." Discord said, mocking Twilight. "Only you would've found coffee suspicious."

Sure enough, Twilight couldn't find anything in the witness's testimony. There was nothing odd about his trip to the coffee shop and sounded like just a typical trip. However, after thinking it over carefully, she realized that being an ordinary trip across the street was exactly what was wrong.

**OBJECTION!**

As soon as Twilight objected, Discord began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Miss Sparkle, did you actually find something odd about the witness getting coffee?" The Doctor asked.

"No, the coffee has nothing to do with anything, but there's another problem with this testimony." Twilight answered. "Just now, Giant Hand claimed that he didn't see anything when he looked back at the hotel."

The Doctor thought about what Twilight said, and while he didn't notice anything at first, an epiphany struck him. Discord, being so confident in himself, didn't notice anything.

"It appears that the defense has found a flaw in the witness's testimony for a second time." The Doctor said.

"What? I don't see anything." Discord said.

"Fine. I guess we have been pretty vague." Twilight admitted. "Just a minute ago, Giant Hand said that he didn't see anything strange when he went to get coffee. If that's the case, why the hay did he not see climbing up the ladder and up to the hotel room?"

Once again, Giant Hand's eyes popped out of his helmet in surprise. He insisted that he saw nothing, but sure enough, he should've seen everything.

**OBJECTION!**

"Maybe he couldn't see anything." Discord said with a slightly worried look. "The coffee shop obviously didn't face Blueblood's room."

**OBJECTION!**

"I think it's safe to say it was. Otherwise, Giant Hand wouldn't need to look back." Twilight argued.

"Witness, was your room facing the coffee shop?" The Doctor asked angrily.

"Y-yes. It's how I knew it was there." Giant Hand admitted.

For the first time all day, Discord was thrown into a bad spot. He had started to sweat when such a huge oversight was found and couldn't use his silver tongue to mess with Twilight's case. When the audience noticed the prosecution's loss for words, they started to make an uproar, but they were quickly silenced by a single bang of the Doctor's gavel.

"Witness, what you just revealed contradicts with all the facts we have. Explain yourself!" The Doctor ordered. "I hope you aren't hiding any more secrets."

"B-but I'm not!" Giant Hand explained. "During my entire time out of the hotel, I didn't see the ladder, nor did I see the attacker. Heck, I never even...oh..."

A thought occurred to Giant Hand as he pondered about the missing ladder, which Twilight, Discord, and the Doctor noticed by the sudden silence.

"I just remembered. Back when I saw Rarity and the prince, I didn't see the ladder hanging by the window either."

_The ladder wasn't at the window either? What could that mean?_ Twilight thought to herself. After thinking of a possible answer though, a horrified expression appeared on her face.

"Figured it out too, my little pony?" Discord asked with his smug smiled back on his face. "Your honor, I think we've gotten all we can get from this witness. If I may, I'd like to call the first one back for a second."

"I suppose the cross-examination has gone on for long enough." The Doctor said. "Does the defense have any objections?"

Twilight came to the same conclusion about the mysterious as Discord and it was a bad one for her. She didn't want it to be brought up, but she knew that it was going to happen anyway. "No, your honor. No objections."

* * *

A few minutes later, after Giant Hand left the witness stand, Star Cestus was brought back up to the stand to clarify what would completely blow away the contradiction Twilight worked so hard to find.

"Red, we need to ask you something about the stepladd-oh, I mean the "ladder" that was found at the crime scene." Discord said.

"Sure, pal. What do you need to know?" Star Cestus asked.

"Just a minute ago, the prince's guard told us that he didn't see the ladder against the room's window when he went out, and he didn't see it when he was in the room either. Care to explain why?"

"Oh, of course!" Star Cestus said. "We didn't actually find the ladder standing against the hotel. It was actually lying down in the grass. I guess the attacker foolishly knocked the ladder down when she entered the room. The reason we knew it was used on the prince's hotel window was because of indents found in the grass and the height of the ladder. In short, we are 100% sure that the ladder was used there."

Twilight slammed her hooves on the table in anger when she heard the new information. _Damn it! I thought I had it! There's no way the ladder would've fallen if it was positioned like it was, but without proof, it's the only explanation!_

"Twilight, you don't look so good." Spike said, worried about her friend.

"OF COURSE I'M NOT GOOD!" Twilight snapped. "I finally found a problem with the testimony and Discord fixed it!"

"I don't know. It still seems fishy, doesn't it? I use our ladder at home all the time, but I've never let it fall over on me."

There wasn't much left for Twilight to fall back on, but she knew Spike had a good point. The idea of Rarity breaking in with the ladder and then letting fall was too suspicious to ignore.

"Does the defense have anything to say about what the commissioner just said?" The Doctor asked.

"It's just as Spike said." Twilight answered. "It seems too odd for Rarity to let the ladder fall over after climbing up. My theory is that somepony else climbed the ladder, committed the crime, and left after removing the ladder. That's the only way this crime could've happened without Giant Hand seeing the ladder."

**OBJECTION!**

"Perhaps Rarity accidently allowed the ladder to fall and trapped herself as Giant Hand left the scene. That would explain why Rarity was at the crime scene when the door to the room was locked. There's simply no other way."

"The prosecution does have a valid point." The Doctor said in agreement. "Can the defense come up with any proof that another pony was at the crime scene?"

[i[Think think think think...EUREKA! Twilight thought. "As a matter of fact, there is still a possibility of another pony being at the crime scene. And this is my proof!"

**TAKE THAT!**

Twilight presented to the court the gold bar Discord produced, the one used to knock out Blueblood in the crime.

"Twilight, that's evidence used to prove Rarity was the culprit. Why would you use it against yourself?" Discord asked.

"Actually, I don't think it's enough to say Rarity was the one who used it." Twilight argued. "Did you forget that the magic residue from another unicorn was found on the gold?"

"I have to admit that I did forget." The Doctor said.

"The reason Rarity was suspected of being the attacker is because you found her magic and hoof prints on the gold bar, but if that's the case, then whoever the other magic belongs to is equally suspicious."

The Doctor went into a deep thought to think about Twilight's proposal. Twilight was slowly turning the tables again, much to Discord's misery.

"In fact, I think the concrete proof still lies with that ladder. If we can leave prints on a piece of metal, then surely there will be marks of some kind on the ladder, and if it there's any that don't belong to Rarity, it will prove that she didn't do it."

Both Discord and Star Cestus had a funny look appear on their faces. They felt a sense of doubt and confusion with Twilight's idea, almost as if they hoped Twilight wouldn't suggest that.

"Very well. Commissioner Cestus, please have the ladder analyzed for any other prints." The Doctor asked.

"We already sent everything we found to the forensics and they examined every piece of evidence carefully. We didn't find any kind of prints on the ladder." Star Cestus explained.

"Well, that's a shame. I guess this means Miss Rarity really...wait, none? Not even the defendants' own hoof prints?"

"I'm afraid not. We found no prints to show it was handled, no magic to show it was levitated, and as far as we know, it was a ghost who used the ladder. It's quite a mystery."

While the court was working hard to solve the mystery of Prince Blueblood's attacker, a new mystery was born about the markless ladder. Theoretically, any pony could've climbed up and use it.

"Eh, it doesn't really change anything in the long run." Discord said. "The ladder was clearly used, the hotel room was locked from the inside, and yet Rarity was found inside."

"Hmm...there are still some unsolved mysterious, but everything you said is true." The Doctor said. "Since nothing has actually changed the current facts, I think it's about time I give my verdict since I can't see there being anything that can prove the defendants' innocence."

_No. It can't end now. There's still too many questions that I need answered._ Twilight thought, worried about the upcoming verdict. _There must be somepony that can tell us more._

"Will the defendant, Miss Rarity St. Germane please come to the stand for her verdict?"

That was when it became clear. There was indeed still another pony who hasn't said anything about the case, and she called to the stand by the judge himself. Among the many mysteries was why Rarity was at the crime scene if she wasn't the one who committed the crime. Since the verdict was ready to be handed down, this was Twilight's last chance.

"Your honor!" Twilight said as she banged her table with her hooves. "Since we're already calling her back out here, I'd like to ask Rarity about the crime from her point of view."

The Doctor shook his head in disagreement. "Request denied. Without any proof or alibi, anything she would say would be unreliable."

"Please, I beg you! I know she's been hiding something from me as well, and maybe if I can figure out what that is, we may be able to find something that can turn this whole thing around."

Discord shook his head in shame and began wagging his finger at Twilight. "Oh dear Twilight. Still trying to save your friend when it's obvious that she's a criminal mastermind."

After thinking the idea over a second time and looking at the expression on Twilight's face, the Doctor felt a change of heart. "Very well then. I suppose she has the right to some last words. Bailiff, bring the defendant in so we may hear her story."

**OBJECTION!**

"Your honor, I don't know about you, but I don't want to waste more time here then I need to." Discord complained.

**OBJECTION!**

"The judge has already allowed me to do it." Twilight argued.

**OBJECTION!**

"I see it as nothing as a waste of time. There's no reason for me to let you play with any more dead-end details. At least...not without a dagger hanging over your head."

The court went silent. Not even the audience had anything to say, nor did they want to say anything. Twilight herself was worried about what Discord was suggestion. She was particularly worried about the idea of literally having a dagger over her head.

"Hmm...dagger over..." The Doctor said to himself before understanding the meaning. "Oh! You mean there should be a penalty of some sort."

"Fine. If I'm wrong, I'll let the judge hold me in contempt." Twilight said.

"Pff. What's the point of that?" Discord asked. "The trial is almost over anyway, so it would barely be called a punishment. No, I've got a much better idea."

_Yeah, I have the feeling that I'm dead now._ Twilight though with unease.

"With a snap of my fingers, I can make anything reality. I propose that if Rarity can't say anything that can avoid a guilty verdict, I can use my magic on you. Tell me Twilight, do you think you can live the rest of your life _without_ your horn and wings?"

"My...MY HORN?!"

It was indeed a very scary proposal for Twilight. If she wanted to hear Rarity's testimony without Discord interfering, she would have to give up her horn and wings.

_I can live without my wings. I'm still breaking them in, but my horn? Magic is my whole life!_ Twilight thought, having second thoughts about the idea.

"If you had to give up your horn and wings, would that mean you can't be a princess anymore?" Spike asked.

"It would definitely mean I can't live my life the same way again. Magic is my special talent. If I gave it up, my cutie mark wouldn't mean anything anymore. It's...definitely not something I expected to happen at the trial today."

**OBJECTION!**

To the shock of everypony in the court, Rarity herself ran to the stand and objected to the idea Twilight gambling with her magic.

"This will NOT do!" Rarity said angrily. "A unicorn values their horn like it's their own lives, and Twilight of all ponies would value it above her life! I'd sooner take a guilty verdict then to let you take that away from her!"

Discord chuckled and wagged his finger at Rarity after making her comment. "There you have it. She pleads guilty. I'd say it's time to end this trial."

"So it seems. Does the defense have anything to say about this?" The Doctor asked.

Suddenly, there was a smile on Twilight's face. Discord was at Twilight's throat, Rarity was asking for a guilty verdict, and the judge was ready to hand down a verdict, and yet Twilight was smiling. It was quite a shock to Discord.

"You're on." Twilight said.

"Excuse me?" The Doctor asked.

"I said I'm accepting Discord's challenge. If I can't find anything in Rarity's testimony, I'll let him take away my horn and wings."

"Oh...well...I didn't expect to hear that." The Doctor said. "Hmm...does the prosecution have anything to say?"

Discord began laughing like the maniac he was when Twilight accepted his offer. "A chance to send one of Twilight's friend to the Sun and mutilating Twilight herself after the way she talked to me? How could I possibly turn this down?"

"Twilight, are you sure this is a good idea?" Spike asked.

_I know this isn't a good idea, but it's still worth doing. Here I am trying to help Rarity, then she comes and tries to save me by sacrificing her own life. I can't let a pony with a heart like that down. I'm more then willing to lay risk my magic to save my friends. It's why I have it in the first place._

More than prepared for the worst case scenario, Twilight was able to make the trial continue to give Rarity the chance to prove her innocence. Twilight didn't know if she would succeed or not, but with Rarity's life at stack, she didn't care.

* * *

**Twilight's Records:**

**Profiles:**  
**Spike: My baby dragon assistant. Sometimes thinks with his stomach more than with head.**  
**Rarity: One of my best friends. She is accused of trying to murder Prince Blueblood.**  
**Prince Blueblood: The victim. Was apparently almost killed.**  
**Discord: The lord and master of chaos. Apperently the lord of prosscutors as well.**  
**Star Cestus: The commissioner of Canterlot's police force. He doesn't seem to like me that much.**  
**The Doctor: A mysterious resident from Ponyville who seems to know Princess Celestia. He's the acting judge of the case.**

**Evidence:**  
**Attorney's Badge: Proof that I'm acting as an attorney. It's surprisingly pretty.**  
**Hotel Key: Used to open and close a door. Obviously.**  
**Broken Glass: Found near a broken window. Better be careful.**  
**White Hat: A white hat. Simple as that. Found in some bushes.**  
**Gold Bar: A solid gold bar the police found at the crime scene. Believed to of been the weapon used at the crime.**  
**Forensic report: States that Rarity's hoof print and magic was found on the gold bar. Another unicorn's magic was also found on the gold.  
********Ladder: Found at the crime scene. Somepony used it to get into the hotel room from the outside. Update: No hoof prints or magic residue was found.**  
**List of names: Contains the names of ponies who checked in athe the Gilded Horseshoe.**


	7. Day 2: Trial Part 4: Rarity's Secret

Instead of handing down the verdict, the Doctor agreed to listen to a testimony from Rarity herself and share what she wanted to say, but there was also pressure for her. If she failed to bring any new information to the court, Discord would take away Twilight's horn and wings.

Rarity walked to the witness stand. Once there, she became nervous after the Canterlot citizens looking down at her from the audience benches.

"You certainly don't look like the type who would try to kill a pony, let alone a prince." The Doctor said.

**OBJECTION!**

"Keep in mind that the evidence still points to her as the culprit." Discord said. "Also, remember that nothing she says will be reliable without solid proof."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "For now, let's just hear what she has to say."

"W-w-what am I suppose to say?" Rarity asked.

"Just try to say something that can prove you're innocent." The Doctor explains. "I would like to hear an explanation about why you were at the crime scene in the first place. Any objections?"

_Rarity hasn't been telling me the truth about everything._ Twilight thought. _I wonder if her secrets are even that big. Knowing her, it's probably something like her hair is going grey. In any case, I'll have to get it out of her if I want to save her._

* * *

**-Testimony: Why I was there.-**

_"Why I was there? Uh...of course. When I was at the hotel, I heard that the prince was there as well, so I thought I'd seem him. I felt a little bad about how things went at the Grand Galloping Gala, so I thought I'd try to make amends. And rest assure, Twilight. I DID have a hotel room that day."_

**-End of testimony-**

* * *

"Not exactly case breaking testimony now is it?" The Doctor said.

"If that's the case, shall we give her the guilty verdict now?" Discord asked.

"No, I'd first like to give Miss Sparkle a chance to cross-examine her first."

The testimony was not a good one for Twilight's case. It was vague, lacked anything of real interest, and was mostly what she already knew. Nothing had changed.

"It looks like this could be the end of the trial, Spike." Twilight said with sadness. "I'm not sure what more we can do here."

"Really? I don't think so." Spike said. "Rarity is obviously lying to us. Why can't you just try to get her to tell us the truth? She could end up giving us something we don't know yet."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm hoping she really is lying. If she's telling the truth, we'll lose the trial right now." Twilight said. _And if it does end, then I'll lose my wings, my horn, and even my friend._

* * *

**-Cross-examination-**

_Why I was there? Uh...of course. When I was at the hotel, I heard that the prince was there as well, so I thought I'd seem him. "_

_"I felt a little bad about how things went at the Grand Galloping Gala, so I thought I'd try to make amends."_

_"And rest assure, Twilight. I DID have a hotel room that day_

**OBJECTION!**

_There's only one thing I want to talk about/_ Twilight thought. "Rarity, you claim to of had a room at the Gilded Horseshoe, but I have here a list of names of the ponies who were at the hotel that day. I've looked through the names and haven't found your name anywhere."

"I...well...are you sure you have the right list?" Rarity asked desperately.

The Doctor looked down at Rarity with disapproval, not being satisfied with the testimony. At that time, Discord was getting ready to snap his fingers and make Twilight's wings and horn disappear as they agreed.

"Rarity, the judge is ready to hand down a verdict. Please, for both of us, you need to tell us what happened." Twilight begged.

At that point, Rarity remembered about the deal Twilight made with Discord and realized that she was being selfish. While trying to hide her secrets, she had slowly made her problem Twilight's problem as well. She knew she had to say something she didn't want to share.

"Fine. I guess I have no choice." Rarity said. "Not only was I at the hotel, but I even have an alibi."

_Yes! I knew you'd come through._ Twilight thought happily.

"If you really do have an alibi, please add it to your testimony." The Doctor said.

I was staying at a room at the top floor of the hotel."

**HOLD IT!**

"Alright, Rarity. This is where the lies have to end." Twilight said. "The same list makes it clear that you weren't on the top floor, the penthouse rooms. Can you really prove you were there."

Rarity took a deep breath, look up to the Canterlot citizens watching, looked back to Twilight, and continued her testimony. "Yes. In fact, you ask the front desk or the manager, and they will recognize me."

**OBJECTION!**

"I've met those ponies." Discord said. "They don't ever recall seeing a mare name Rarity checking in."

"Well...that's because I didn't use my name." Rarity confessed. "I...used the name...Flashy Skirt."

_Flashy Skirt? Where do have I heard that name?_ Twilight pondered. Then, after remembering a piece of evidence..._WAIT A MINUTE!_

* * *

Names of ponies at the Gilded Horseshoe:

_Floor 6: Filthy Rich, Gold Digger, and Diamond Tiara. Fancy Pants and Flashy Skirt._

_Floor 5: Prince Blueblood and Giant Hand_

_Floor 4: Sapphire Shores. Fluer Dis Lee. Soarin and Spitfire. Rapidfire and Fleetfoot. Photo Finish. Hoity Toity. Jet Set and Upper Crust. Gustave Le Grand._

* * *

"Flashy Skirt? Why..." Twilight said after looking through the list of names. "That was Fancy Pant's roommate!"

After hearing that Rarity was sharing a hotel room with Fancy Pants, the audience went into the biggest uproar of the day. They were all talking away, shocked that a mare like Rarity would be at a hotel room with somepony as famous as Fancy Pants.

The Doctor didn't like the audience's behavior and banged his gavel three times. "Order! Order! Please behave yourselves!"

**OBJECTION!**

"Th-this is obviously a lie. She's trying to wiggle out of this mess." Discord said, shocked by the turnabout.

**OBJECTION!**

"If what she says is true, then she'll have an airtight alibi!" Twilight argued. "Rarity, were you really sharing a room with Fancy Pants?"

"I...yes. Me and Fancy Pants were...together at the hotel." Rarity admitted.

Hearing the words from the pony's mouth for a second time made everypony in the audience go even crazier as none of them could stop talking about what they had learned. As they went on and on, Rarity began to hide behind the witness stand.

"Order! Order! ORDER!" The Doctor said after banging his gavel three times again, not being able to enjoy banging it anymore. "I will have order or I will clear this court!"

Completely ignoring the Doctor's wishes, the ponies of Canterlot kept going, forgetting that they were at a courthouse. Finally losing his patience, the Doctor banged his gavel a final time.

"That's it. I'm officially clearing this court. Bailiff, removing everyone here who isn't involved with this trial."

* * *

It was chaotic for a few minutes, and the not the kind of chaos Discord enjoyed, but everypony watching the trial had to be removed from the courtroom and the trial was no longer public. This allowed the exhausted Doctor, the annoyed Discord, and the sweating Twilight to continue the trial.

"Sorry about that, but my patience grew thin." The Doctor said after calming down. "Now then, if you had an alibi this whole time, why wait until now to share it?"

"I admit, it would've been better for my case if I came clean, but I just couldn't." Rarity said. "I knew that if word got out that Fancy Pants invited me to come with him on a trip to Canterlot's best hotel, I'd never be able to show my face to the public again!"

"Wouldn't being with a famous pony be good for your image?" The Doctor asked.

"Good heavens, no! It would be nothing but a great big scandal. Imagine the headlines! _Canterlot's most elite bachelor dating mare from the boonies!_ I would get so much unwanted attention."

_I sure hope nopony back in Ponyville finds out about what she just said._ Twilight thought with a worried look. _Although, I know Rarity takes pride in her image, so it's believable that this is the reason she waited so long to reveal what she was doing. But it does raise another question. Was there a reason why they went to the same hotel as Prince Blueblood?_

The Doctor thought over the new information he was given with great care. "I'd like to hear a testimony from this Fancy fellow my self, but if it holds up, you will be free to go."

**OBJECTION!**

After finally regaining his composure, Discord once again wagged his finger at Twilight and the Doctor. "I'm afraid an alibi won't be enough to clear her name at this point."

"Explain yourself, Discord!" Twilight ordered.

"It's simple. She can have an alibi on every other hour, but the facts remain the same. Rarity was found at the crime scene when Red and the unreliable bodyguard found the prince. It's obvious that they arrived at the crime scene shortly after Rarity did the deed. On top of that, the weapon has her hoofprints and magic on it."

**OBJECTION!**

"But it changes the importance of the ladder and the broken window." Twilight said. "Since Rarity was inside hotel, why would she go through such complex measures going inside when she could just go downstairs and enter."

"Simple, my stupid pony. The door was locked!" Discord said in an insulting manner. "The prince didn't want to let her in, so she resorted to more drastic measures. It's the only explanation."

"If you can explain everything, then explain her motive!" Twilight said. "What reason would she have to go down to his room and try to kill him?"

"Oh, that's easy." Discord answered. "Prince Blueblood is responsible for Proposition G3, which although is mostly favorable to the ponies of Canterlot, if it were to pass through, Rarity would never be able to live in Canterlot."

_Proposition G3? Didn't Giant Hand say something like that? Its been brought up in court twice now, so it must be important._

With one final bang of his gavel, the Doctor had made his decision on what to do next.

"From the new information the defense has shared, although not completely consistent with the rest of the evidence, now questions the defendant's whereabouts during the crime. In order to declare a fair verdict, the defense and prosecution will need to bring in more evidence. Therefore, I will end the trial for Today."

_Yes! I've managed to give myself a little time. Now hopefully, I'll be able to investigate this whole thing with more detail._

"Miss Sparkle, you are to look into your client's alibi with more detail and bring this Fancy Pants fellow in here. Discord, you will need to find more decisive evidence to prove the defendant's guilt."

With an angry groan, Discord replied..."Fine. It's not a smart move, but I promise I'll end this tomorrow."

"Very good then. We will resume this trial tomorrow at 10:00 AM. Court is adjourned." The Doctor said as he banged his gavel, ending the trial for the day. "Bailiff, please escort the defendent back to the detention center."

As requested, the bailiff and a guard went to Rarity and began to bring her to the court doors, but as soon as the door cracked open, they flew wide open as other ponies, mainly photographers, reporters and journalists, all talking at once and scaring Rarity.

"How long have you gone out with Fancy Pants?"

"Do you plan on divorcing him for his money?"

"Is it true you're carrying Fancy Pant's love child?

"Does this suit make me look fat?"

Before any of the reporters could get inside the courtroom, the Bailiff slammed the door as quickly as possible, being almost as horrified as Rarity herself.

"Is it too late to plead for the death penalty?" Rarity asked.

"I guess I'll have to bring her back myself." Discord said. "Until then, I bid you adieu, Twilight Sparkle."

With a snap of his fingers, Discord and Rarity disappeared from the courtroom, avoiding the annoying reporters.

_I think I finally understand exactly why Rarity kept quiet about this._ Twilight thought. _But now, I have a lot to look into. I need to find Fancy Pants and ask him about him and Rarity, find out why Rarity went to see Prince Blueblood in the first place, and I've also grown curious about Proposition G3. I have a feeling that it's important. I'm not too far from getting Rarity acquitted, so I hope she can be patient for a little while longer._

With her priorities set in place, Twilight also made her way out of the courtroom with Spike, planning her next move in saving Rarity. She still had so many questions to ask and very little time to get answers, but after going head-to-head with Discord, she didn't feel like letting anything stop her.

* * *

**I really do wish this site would let me do the same kind of edits as fimfiction. But, as long as you can all read the story alright, I guess its okay.**

**Profiles:**

**Spike: My baby dragon assistant. Sometimes thinks with his stomach more than with head.**  
**Rarity: One of my best friends. She is accused of trying to murder Prince Blueblood.**  
**Prince Blueblood: The victim. Was apparently almost killed.**  
**Discord: The lord and master of chaos. Apparently the lord of proscutors as well.**  
**Star Cestus: The commissioner of Canterlot's police force. He doesn't seem to like me that much.**  
**The Doctor: A mysterious resident from Ponyville who seems to know Princess Celestia. He's the acting judge of the case.**  
**Giant Hand: Captain of the royal guard. Was Blueblood's personal guard on the day of the crime.**  
**Fancy Pants: One of Canterlot's most sophisticated and successful ponies. He and Rarity shared a hotel room on the day of the attack.**

**Evidence:**

**Attorney's Badge: Proof that I'm acting as an attorney. It's surprisingly pretty.**  
**Hotel Key: Used to open and close a door. Obviously.**  
**Broken Glass: Found near a broken window. Better be careful.**  
**White Hat: A white hat. Simple as that. Found in some bushes.**  
**Gold Bar: A solid gold bar the police found at the crime scene. Believed to of been the weapon used at the crime.**  
**Forensic report: States that Rarity's hoof print and magic was found on the gold bar. Another unicorn's magic was also found on the gold.**  
**Ladder: Found at the crime scene. Somepony used it to get into the hotel room from the outside. UPDATE: No hoof marks or magic residue is found on it.**  
**List of names: Contains the names of ponies who checked in at he the Gilded Horseshoe.**


End file.
